OSR/NSR Tabletop Roleplaying Games

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Whither Reddit? In the meantime, here’s a place to chat up old school revival (OSR) and new school revolution (NSR) style TTRPGs.

My name is Todd aka Hexed Press and I am the current caretaker (have I always been the caretaker?). Here are some other places to find me, if you are so inclined:

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Game System Recommendations (lemm.ee)

submitted 2 years ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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I thought it might be nice to set up a thread in which we can recommend game systems to one another. What do you like? Why? Give us a quick blurb about a game you like and why you think others might like it. Maybe call out if you think it would be good for absolute beginners or folks new to the OSR/NSR. Oh and the genre too. If this gains some steam, I’ll pin it to the sidebar for easy access.

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[–] sambeastie 1 points 2 years ago

For a first timer? Cairn. It's a little less lethal than other systems, and it really gets to the meat of what's exciting about the OSR play style. It's mostly pretty easy to Referee, it's free, and it doesn't require a whole lot of homework.

For a 5e veteran? Knave. It's roll over, so it feels familiar, and similarly to Cairn, it doesn't require much reading. I think it asks a little more of the Referee though, since target numbers aren't really built in.

For the person who got a taste but wants things a little more freeform, I will always stan Whitehack. It's just perfect for groups who like to meld the expression of the world to something they have a clear picture of. The d20 roll under system is simple and quick, and it has very good support for the Referee in the form of advice and optional mechanics. I also find that it's the easiest to run on the fly for a bunch of reasons.

All those are more NSR since they have less compatibility with old material. For the real old school...Old School Essentials Basic Fantasy. Turns out BX is kinda good.